Search age:

Search in:

Mubarak goes on trial in hospital bed

Hamza Hendawi

An ailing, 83-year-old Hosni Mubarak, lying ashen-faced on a hospital bed inside a metal defendants cage with his two sons standing protectively beside him in white prison uniforms, pleaded innocent to charges of corruption and complicity in the killing of protesters at the start of his historic trial on Wednesday.

The spectacle, aired live on state television, was the biggest humiliation for Egypt's former president since his ouster nearly six months ago after an 18-day uprising.

But it went a long way to satisfy one of the key demands that has united protesters since February 11, the day he was toppled.

It was the first time Egyptians have seen Mubarak since Feb 10, when he gave a defiant TV address refusing to resign.

Advertisement

"I am delighted that I see them in a cage. I feel that my son's soul is finally starting to be at rest and that his blood will cool," said Saeeda Hassan Abdel-Raouf, the mother of a 22-year-old protester killed in the uprising.

In the courtroom, a prosecutor read the charges against Mubarak - that he was an accomplice along with his then-interior minister in the "intentional and premeditated murder of peaceful protesters" and that he and his sons received gifts from a prominent businessman in return for guaranteeing him a lowered price in a land deal with the state.

"Yes, I am here," Mubarak said, raising his hand slightly when the judge asked him to identify himself and enter a plea.

"I deny all these accusations completely," he said.

Mubarak was wheeled into the defendant's cage on a hospital bed, a sheet pulled up to his chest. Though he was pale and his eyes were ringed with red, he appeared alert and aware of what was going on.

He showed little discernible emotion. With him in the cage were his nine co-defendants, including his two sons - one-time heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa - his former interior minister Habib el-Adly, and six top former police officials.

From time to time, Mubarak craned his head to see the proceedings. Other times, he crooked his elbow over his face as if in exhaustion.

Defendants are traditionally held in cages during trials in Egypt. About an hour after the session began, there was a recess and the defendants were led out of the cage.

Up to the last minute, many Egyptians had doubted that Mubarak would actually appear at the trial.

There was scepticism that he would show up at the trial up until the moment early Wednesday when Mubarak was taken from his hospital room in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to a military plane that flew him to a military airport in Cairo.

From there, he was transferred by helicopter to the police academy where the trial was held.

Mubarak has been living in Sharm since he was ousted and has been under arrest in a hospital there since April, reportedly suffering from heart problems. Doctors have reported that he is growing increasingly depressed.

In February, as protests raged around him, Mubarak vowed he would die on Egyptian soil.

The last time Egyptians saw him, he appeared on state TV, handing most of his powers to his vice president but refusing to resign. He proclaimed he was "adamant to continue to shoulder my responsibility."

The next day, his resignation was announced and Mubarak fled to a palatial residence in Sharm el-Sheikh. The ruling generals who took power from him - and who were all appointed by Mubarak before the uprising - appeared reluctant to prosecute him, but protests flared anew, pressuring action.

In April, Mubarak was moved to a Sharm el-Sheikh hospital and put under arrest while his sons and former cronies were held in Cairo's Torah Prison.

The prosecution is an unprecedented moment in the Arab world, the first time a modern Mideast leader has been put on trial fully by his own people.

Mubarak, el-Adly, and six top police officers are charged in connection with the killings of protesters. All eight could face the death penalty if convicted. The charge sheet said that Mubarak "allowed (el-Adly) to use live ammunition" in the crackdown on protesters.